Running a sandwich shop may sound easy — how hard can it be to put a few ingredients in between pieces of bread and serve it with chips? — but there is a lot more to consider than ham versus turkey. Consider things like your location, your employees, your team, and of course your menu. If you want to succeed at owning your own sandwich shop, these five tips can help you.
1. Study Your Customers
The customers are the lifeblood of a sandwich shop, so think about them with every move you make. This is especially important before you pick your location, because where your franchise is located is directly related to the customers that come in. Before you sign a lease, make sure you have thought about how the location may impact how your business runs.
2. Work with a Great Team
Your employees are critical to running a sandwich shop well. It goes without saying that everyone needs to have the proper licenses and permits to handle and serve food, but there is more than that. Hire people who are comfortable working with customers to make a visit to your restaurant a pleasant one. Train your employees to make sandwiches that look as good as they taste and keep strict standards on cleanliness. Finally, make sure that you work with a team of people you can trust to run the shop in your absence because you certainly cannot be there all day, every day (and why would you want to?).
3. Focus on Your Menu
Sandwiches are delicious and not exactly difficult to find, so make sure that you have something special to set your sandwich shop apart. You don’t want your restaurant to blend in with others but you also want to avoid being too gimmicky so find what works for you. Focus on creating delicious, high-quality food that customers will love to come back for.
4. Pay Attention to Customers
After you have opened for business, make a point to listen to your customers to improve your shop. Ask customers for feedback on your food, atmosphere, employees, and service and then take their suggestions to heart (within reason). Customers appreciate when you take the time to follow through on their suggestions. Create a loyal fan base by giving your customers what they want.
5. Choose a Franchise
Owning an independent sandwich shop might sound like a good plan, but there is a lot of work and risk involved in starting a business from scratch. Joining a sandwich franchise lets you skip ahead several steps — finding a name and logo, choosing a menu, writing operations manuals, deciding policies and procedures, etc. — so you can jump right in to running a sandwich shop. In addition, you can choose a franchise system that has a culture of support to help its franchisees build strong businesses.
Interested in learning more about running a sandwich shop of your own? Contact us today for more information!
